Volunteers sought for UL Hospitals Group Patient Council

The UL Hospitals Group is seeking to strengthen its relationships with patients by setting up a new patient council.  
The purpose of a patient council is to establish a group of people who have an interest in the hospital group to plan and advise on improving services for patients and families who use any of the six hospitals across the group, which includes University Hospital Limerick, University Maternity Hospital Limerick, St John’s Hospital, Nenagh Hospital, Ennis Hospital and Croom Hospital. “Establishing partnerships with patients and their families is essential to improving the quality, safety and cost effectiveness of health care in the Mid West region,” said Ms Colette Cowan, CEO UL Hospitals Group. 
“We value the unique experiences that patients have and we are looking for their feedback to continuously improve the services we provide. The idea of the patient council is to offer patients the opportunity to become involved as active partners with the hospital group in the design, delivery and evaluation of hospital services. We welcome applications from anyone interested in improving our health services and patient experience and would particularly like to hear from people who have direct contact with our hospitals either as a patient, a relative of a patient or a patient support group.”
The establishment of a patient council is the first step in promoting a culture of patient partnerships across the group. The results of patient feedback will be a key driver for the agenda for the patient council.  Through partnership with the patient council, the hospital group will share decision making, seek feedback about patient needs, experiences and outcomes and use this information to inform the development of their strategy.
If you are interested in becoming part of the UL Hospitals Group Patient Council, please contact Catherine Hand, Patient Liaison Officer, via email at patient.counciluhl@hse.ie
 or 061 482448.  Applications are open until November 29th 2015.
“All applicants will be invited for interview and successful candidates will be garda vetted before being invited to join the patient council,” said Ms Cowan. “The patient council will meet quarterly and we estimate that approx two hours per month time commitment would be required.”